Even when you've lived in a place for years, writing about a different culture can be daunting. As an outsider myself, I approached Claire-Lisse Kieffer's debut collection, Tenterhooks, curious about her portrayal of Ireland. Kieffer, originally from France, lived in England before moving to Ireland post-Brexit to pursue an MA in Writing at the University of Galway.

Her background is evident in her stories, which unfold across England and Ireland in the present day and sometimes in strange futures. While her perspective gives unique insights, it is also, at times, a hindrance. 

In the opening title story, Kieffer depicts an Irish family with brief hints of realism that are ultimately distorted by her choice of details. Extreme pro-life Catholics with wallpaper ruined by daily "bacon and cabbage stew"? The portrayal veers into caricature. The family lives in Carraig Liath, Newcastle (a Galway City suburb on the west side), which she describes as the “last stop before the bog” where close-minded former country folk prevail. Not only is this geographically inaccurate, the closest bog is about 50km northeast of Galway city, but it creates a sweeping generalization of an area and a type of people that is difficult to trust coming from an outsider. 

Subsequent stories disappointed similarly. Recycled metaphors, repeated character names, and confusing twist endings made Tenterhooks feel underdeveloped and two-dimensional. The collection lacks cohesion, with stories resembling writing exercises rather than fully realized narratives.

As Tenterhooks emerged from Kieffer's MA program, her stories likely reflect academic assignments—experimental exercises rather than a unified vision. This origin explains but doesn't excuse the collection's uneven quality.

Nevertheless, glimpses of promise emerge in stories like "The New Irish" and "Holding Babies," where Kieffer writes from a place of emotional truth rather than contrived surrealism. These moments reveal genuine potential that could flourish in future work. While Tenterhooks represents a somewhat uneven debut, I hope her next collection embraces authenticity more fully, allowing her unique cross-cultural perspective to shine.